olive trees (Olea europaea)

Altar of the Twelve Gods

A grove of olive and laurel trees surrounding the Altar of the Twelve Gods in the Athenian Agora is mentioned in the late 1st century A.D. by the Roman writer Statius in his epic poem Thebaid (12.481-496). Excavations conducted there revealed the re...

Gymnasia and Groves

The three most famous gymnasia in Athens, situated outside the city in naturally well-watered and shady sanctuaries of pre-Classical date, were those in the suburbs. In the Academy there was a shrine of the hero Hekademos; the Lykeion had a sanctuar...

Temple Grove

Evidence for a temple grove on Aegina exists only in a literary reference. Pausanias (2.29.6) wrote that the shrine of Aiakos was surrounded by a grove of olive trees. Pausanias says that it had been there since ancient times, and a reference in 464...